A Black Winter
by Oceanwind
Summary: Winter often leaves a person feeling like there is no hope left, like all the life has been sucked out of them. When Maka finds herself on the receiving end of a prank her temper fires up those desolate feelings as she storms over to the one place where she knows she can take sort through these emotions. It just so happens that he might be part of the reason she is feeling them


**Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater or any of its characters. **

**Warnings: **_Strong T for mention of panties… yeah I am going there… Nothing bad besides a few swear words. Just for all you prudes out there that might have a hissy fit. _

**A Black Winter**

**Chapter 1**

Maka sucked in a deep breath as she raised her hand to knock on the door. Her hot breath danced in the freezing wind with a visible puff, her hands were numb, and she was pretty sure her eyes were shriveling up into nothing.

"You've walked all the way here. Knock, _coward_," she hissed at herself when her hand refused to fall against the wood. At least then she could hide out in the warmth of a house.

She was so close too. A few more seconds ticked by to which Maka felt frozen in time as the snow swirled around her. She was frozen, just like Death City. Soon the blanket of snow would creep up the steps and envelope her; nothing would be left but the pure snow and she would become a pile of ice wrapped in a frozen cocoon of white. Black Star would probably come stumbling out and crash though it, wrecking the simple beauty of freshly fallen snow. Wrecking her, dashing on by as if nothing had happened…

The thought of her friend brought a smile unbidden to her lips, and her hand quaked. Life seemed to spark back into her, warmth spread like wildfire as her hand lowered to her side. The angry trip here simmered around her, the pounding in her ears vanished, and she wondered if she came here to yell at him or to tell him the thing that had been bothering her for months now.

Maka sighed and pulled the scarf around her neck closer as she moved to step away from the door. Tonight wasn't the night where she overcame that 'fear'. She might be brave, but there were still things that gave her pause. This was definitely one of them, besides she had come here to scold him and the point seemed rather mute now. It wasn't like she really thought it was him anyways. She brushed off her thoughts with a shrug of her shoulders and let her feet lead her towards the steps. Her foot crunched into the ice that had started to form with the newly fallen snow when the door behind her flung open with a bang.

She could tell by the way the door slammed into the wall that it was him. He somehow made every door slam open with authority, it pulsated life, that he was here and he wasn't about to let some door hinder his entrance. She shouldn't have jumped in surprise knowing that she was around him in some degree, but she hadn't prepared herself to see him. Her foot slipped out from under her.

Only she didn't hit the ground. Her breath caught in her throat as his firm grip caught her wrist and pulled her up. Her back fell against his chest and she found herself peering up at him shyly. He wasn't wearing a shirt, for whatever reason, but was wearing thick pants and his boots. Over the years his boyish face had grown more handsome, and he had grown so that he was at least a head taller than her now. His blue hair seemed in place for the cold night air and it really went well with his eyes. He gave her an obnoxious grin, his white teeth flashing with hidden meaning that seemed to scream 'you owe me for saving your ass' as he righted her with a gentle push towards the door.

"Get in here, dumbass," he grumbled in fake anger as the smirk had yet to leave his lips.

She didn't argue as she slumped into the house feeling defeated. She shrugged off her coat as the house instantly warmed her. The smell of cocoa hung thickly in the air.

"Expecting company?" she asked politely as Black Star closed the door and surged past her into the kitchen.

"Tsubaki was, she and her date just left," he told her. "I have the house to myself tonight," he added with a wink before disappearing into the kitchen.

"Any hot chocolate left?" she asked hopefully.

She ignored the way his blue eyes flashed with something that brought heat to her face, and tried not to think about what his wink could possibly mean. She had spent many nights reading way too far into the actions Black Star took around her. She let out a deep breath, Black Star wasn't the brightest in their class, but there was something that drew her to him. He was almost like a weakness to her, like all her friends were, but… well, she had a soft spot for her long time best friend and that was the only way she could put it.

"That's what I'm working on!" he called back breaking her from her thoughts. "Come on in here. I doubt you're leaving any time soon," he added.

Her cheeks rose in color as she kicked off her boots. Nervous anticipation filled her as she glanced back towards the kitchen. There was a reason she had stormed over here in the middle of this mild blizzard, yet now it seemed a bit too trivial to be thrown in her friend's face. She had tried to make her escape after all, when he slammed open the door. She was calm now, how was she supposed to further embarrass herself by bringing it up now? She couldn't find it in herself to be mad at him. She should be mad at him, she should scream and kick and throttle him like she used to when they were children (seeing as that was the best way to tear answers out of him), yet the walk here and the warmth of the house calmed her. Since that one particularly nasty blow up between the two, things had a tendency to be smoothed quickly when they started to bicker. Both were too prideful to ever admit when they were wrong, yet at the same time they both held each other in high regard and couldn't throw away their lifelong friendship.

She let out a sigh and trudged towards the kitchen when she heard a particularly loud bang. Peeking in she bit back a chuckle at the sight of her powerful friend sprawled out on the floor looking for a saucer to heat up some milk. She pointed with her foot to the appropriate pan, not saying a word as he snatched it up and then dashed to the fridge to get the milk out.

She had come over here with every intention of screaming herself hoarse, and now here she was unable to say more than pleasantries with a man who had long ago accepted that they would never see eye to eye. _Just because he accepts that doesn't mean he doesn't understand or doesn't care about you_, she told herself. And that was true too. She shouldn't be afraid to broach this topic with Black Star just because it could possibly get… uncomfortable. She winced as her inner voice began its insults afresh, using much harsher words than coward. The offense that had been committed flashed back to her, and she balled her fists while sucking in a deep breath.

This was too far; she knew she had to bring it up to figure out the real culprit and even if he was low on the suspect list, Black Star was still capable of it. It was too inappropriate for her to drop and sweep under the rug, plus it was beyond creepy. She struggled to find the anger that had boiled over to lead her here, she needed to be hot and ready to butt heads with the most stubborn person she knew.

"You look lost," Black Star's voice startled her again and she raised her gaze to find him studying her quizzically. "Cocoa's almost done," he added pointing the milk warming on the stove.

"Right…" she trailed off and lifted her gaze to stare hard at the wall. Her foot started to tap impatiently.

"…well… this is awkward," Black Star chuckled and scratched the back of his head before he added, "something on your mind Maka?"

She stiffened at his question before she half glowered. She thrust her fist into her pants pocket and pulled out a crumbled note rolled around some sort of fabric. Back Star's face was surprisingly passive as he looked blankly between the paper and back towards Maka's face. She could feel her rage returning and she fought the urge to lunge at him. He had learned the art of keeping a straight face years ago, but she could practically smell his guilt. She cocked her brow and tilted her head waiting for him to respond.

"The milk's burning," she said drily when he continued to ignore the mounting silence by simply looking between her and the piece of paper.

"It's not," he protested quickly, but his eyes shot to the stove to confirm it anyways.

It might have been an excuse to break eye contact; she found her eyes narrowing at him in suspicion. _Why is he so calm?_ She thought watching his jaw flex. _He's guilty and trying to keep it in_, she nodded to herself crossing her arms over her chest.

Slowly he turned back to her.

She refused to let her cheeks burn as she glared at him, her fist tightened around the fabric and paper causing them to crackle loudly.

"I don't know why you brought your panties here or a love note?" he started slowly, timidly. His face didn't portray his guilty conscious but it didn't proclaim his innocence either.

"How'd you know it was a love note?" she asked hotly.

Black Star's stoic face erupted into a grin as he closed the space between them and plucked the crumbled paper from her grasp.

"_My thoughts burn night and day of your dazzling beauty. My hands yearn to touch your hair_…" Black Star paused in his mocking voice to let out a snort, "you really thought this was me? Whoever this is, is a total creep," he laughed. His eyes continued to scan down the paper before his face screwed up slightly.

"_Meet me under the mistletoe under the bell on Christmas Eve_?" he read before pausing again, "_Here's a token I couldn't resist stealing. I felt bad so I have delivered it back_…" he exploded into a fit of laughter.

Maka felt her face flush down to her chest as she snatched away the note and roughly stuffed it into her pocket. She had never thought he had written the note, but that he was at least in on the prank that was being pulled on her.

"You're the only thief I know," she mumbled, "and you seem like the type to raid for panties," she added quietly pursing her lips together.

"Yeah but I don't proclaim to the world that I did—If I did," he corrected still chuckling loudly.

"Liar," she growled this time smiling, unable to keep a straight face with his loud obnoxious laughter. "You can't resist bragging, no matter what it is. Your head is too big."

"Careful Maka, you don't want anyone to think that you actually wanted your panty thief to be me," he teased.

He missed the awkward silence that fell between them by turning his back to go fix the promised hot chocolate. The slightly burnt smell clung to the air as he poured two cups and made his way back to her, leaving the rest of the milk on the stove with the burner still on. Yet Maka neglected to tell him as he passed her the steaming mug. Not that she would have forgotten but his hand had brushed against hers for a moment, leaving her distracted with thoughts of how surprisingly soft his fingers were.

"So is that why you were pouting outside my door for the past 20 minutes?" he asked.

The anger had left her again. Only now even with him right beside her she felt incredibly alone, and annoyed. She had the feeling he wasn't being completely honest with her, but she didn't want to keep pushing him for answers. She wasn't sure if she could handle the insults he was going to throw her way later on, and she didn't want to add fuel to the fire. She needed a way to pry answers out of him that wasn't so direct. It was either that or he really hadn't done it and if that was the case then she now had to start from scratch to find out who her mystery stalker was. She shivered at some of the possibilities.

"It wasn't 20 minutes," she protested loudly before coughing and continuing in a more dignified tone, "I was mad," she shrugged. "It was an off chance that it was you, but you were my first suspect."

"Soul wasn't?" Black Star's voice held a bit too much curiosity, but she missed it.

"Actually Blair was. This seemed like the kind of thing she might pull if she was bored enough, but… this is actually a pair of underwear I bought," Maka flushed, her companion lowered his head to show that he was listening before she continued explaining.

"She would have bought something much more… risqué? 'Stolen it' herself and then given me the note. It would have been totally obvious. And then she would have laughed when I brought it up… either that or she actually has learned to pull a prank…" Maka sighed and set the mug of warm liquid down on the counter to fight a blush as she tugged at the fabric between her hands. She lost herself in studying it.

They weren't her 'sexiest' pair of underwear, but they were her favorite. The hip huggers were a vivid green without any patterns or needless sayings on them and silky smooth to the touch. Besides the fact that they fit perfectly, they also were so comfortable she liked to forgo pants when no one was home. She could lose her pants don an oversized shirt and drown in a good book while hogging the sofa to herself for the day. She smiled softly while stroking the fabric between her hands.

Spacing out and day dreaming about a good book with wonderfully comfortable underwear on wasn't the smartest idea to do around her over active friend. She was violently ripped from her happy thoughts when a sharp tug ripped the panties from her grasp. Her friend starting inspecting them as if they were a curious fruit he had never seen before. Holding them so that they dangled in the air in front of his face as he tilted his head this way and that as if he was trying to figure out what secret they kept. It took her a whole three seconds for the gravity of that to sink in.

"Give those back!" she shrieked, forgetting that she was a grown adult and she had nothing to be embarrassed about she made a lunge for the silky undergarment.

Only Black Star didn't seem to hear her, or care that she was now clinging to his back as he raced into the living room. They tumbled to the floor, both grappling for a pair of her panties. She growled when she heard the distinct sound of something tearing and slammed her elbow hard into Black Star's stomach so that he wheezed and released her undies.

"If you tore them you're buying me a new pair," she snapped.

Inspecting them at every angle she couldn't find the source of the noise she had heard. It took her several minutes to realize that Black Star was pinned beneath her, watching her with a look she had never seen on his face.

She flushed and hurriedly jumped off him. Or she would have if Black Star hadn't grabbed her wrist and flipped her so that she was lying next to him. He didn't climb on top or pin her; he stayed by her side, studying her with a look she was sure had to be some mixture of curiosity and lust.

"You want me to buy you underwear?" he asked after the silence enveloped them.

"Only if this one had been ripped! They're my favorite," she squeaked.

"Why?" he asked huskily. His hand started to move around her wrist, trapping her in place, but she was positive she could feel his thumb tracing patterns along her skin.

_So the game begins_, she swallowed.

They had kissed once when they were younger, way younger. She had been at least six years old maybe seven, but that was an innocent exchange simply because she had been curious. The details were lost to her over the years but she remembered that she hadn't hated it… yet neither of them had ever spoken of it since, she doubted Black Star even remembered. Lately, the past few months, there seemed to be an air of sexual tension between the two. Their constant fights and head butts seemed more like flirting lately than actual fighting. She had kept dismissing it as nothing, only touches like this made it hard to ignore. The other day his hug when he had been leaving the house with Soul had been unusually long as well. She felt like dismissing it was the only way to deal with it, because was just messing with her head unintentionally because he was a block head.

"You can't come over here with a pair of panties waving them around like a national flag and then not tell your best friend why they're favorite," he teased, his free hand reached out and poked her cheek.

"They're comfortable," she whispered, and quickly pulled her hand free.

Black Star's face flashed with something akin to disappointment before he flipped up to a stand.

"Why the hell aren't you wearing a shirt anyways?" she asked rudely pointing to his chest, desperate to change the subject.

"My house my rules," he taunted, sticking out his tongue in the process.

She didn't have a comeback for that, and silently willed herself to melt into the floor. Why had she thought that is was a good idea to come over here and yell at him? He obviously didn't do it, and she felt downright silly that she had stormed over here after she had convinced herself that he HAD done because… she liked him and she had hoped that it was him. She heard Black Star's feet pad back over to the kitchen, after he mumbled a swear under his breath when the distinct smell of burning milk reached them. Maka let her eyes slide close, bit the inside of her cheek, and counted to ten before rising to join him.

"Hot chocolate is ready," he said calmly as she entered.

Maka quirked her brow at the mug he offered her and placed in her still cold hands. She felt relief surge through her at the warmth it brought as it vanquished the last of the cold from outside that had still clung to her. She glanced to their abandonment cups from moments earlier but shrugged it off. He would just have more to clean up later anyways, and part of her liked making him do simple house hold chores. Some things reminded people that they weren't above others, and she thought a healthy dose of house chores could be that reminder.

"There is no way this is going to taste good," she huffed, but blew gently on the steaming liquid to cool it.

"How could it not taste good? It was made by a god, everything I do is good," he haughtily replied.

Maka rolled her eyes and pretended to take a small sip. Her gaze caught sight of Black Star's naked chest and she was thankful that the steam rolled out of her cup brushed against her checks, as it sort of excused the heat that started to build there. His gaze caught hers as she nervously looked up to see if he had noticed that she had been checking him out. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. _Coward_, she gritted her teeth. Something inside her snapped.

"I'm sick of this!" she yelled.

Black Star blinked in surprise before setting his mug down. He leaned back against the counter, folded his arms neatly in front of his chest, a scowl forming over his features before he calmly asked, "Sick of what exactly?"

"Of you not taking a hint!" she fumed.

That infamous anger, that indecisiveness and inability to react around boys rose forth and shook her to her core. She was so damn frustrated, mostly with herself, for not knowing how to react, not knowing what to say or do, to show him that she liked him as more than a friend.

"A god like me doesn't miss hints. You're the stupid block head that hasn't noticed that your divine god has been dropping them for months," he growled, he pursed his lips and glanced away. His cheeks started to tint with the faintest amount of pink.

She had opened her mouth to yell more, but then the meaning of his words sank in. Her realization left her dumbstruck for a moment before she took a step forward, growling all the while, "Then why the hell didn't you make your hints more obvious?"

"Are you kidding me? Why should I have to stoop to your lowly status just because you can't keep up with me?"

"Is your ego that freaking ridiculous that you can't drop it and just flat out say you like me? What are you? A chicken?"

"ME?! I'm a GOD! YOU were the one out there in the middle of a snow storm to come over here and accuse me of some note you probably wrote up yourself! And then dangle your freaking underwear in front of my face like some horn dog. You couldn't just say you were interested?"

For a moment she felt like he had gone too far, and it hurt for a split second that he thought she would do something like that just to get his attention. However, her anger grew from it. How was it that now that they both knew that they liked each other they were just arguing about why they hadn't told each other sooner? Only now it was clear that the note had definitely not come from Black Star. Maka found her hands roughly placing her mug next to his, slamming it on the counter with a little more force than necessary so that some of it sloshed out of place and spilled along its sides.

"You are such an idiot if that's what you think," she said coldly.

It didn't matter if he made her heart slam against her ribcage, it didn't matter that her knees would get weak when he touched her or brushed against her on accident, none of that mattered if that was how he was going to talk to her, if that was what he thought of her. She turned to make her way out the door when his warm hand wrapped around her wrist to catch her and his head fell against the back of her shoulder. He squeezed her hand gently.

"Don't go yet," he whispered.

"I think I should," she sniffed.

"Maka," he sounded exasperated as he gave her wrist another reassuring squeeze before he let his hand drop uselessly to his side. His forehead still was pressed against her shoulder, like he felt stupid and was pleading her not to leave yet. The tone in his growl suggested that he wouldn't leave her alone if she did decide to leave now.

She turned her head slightly to glare at him but his face was pointed down avoiding her. She waited a moment longer before slowly turning to face him. His calm composure was gone, his eyes danced around the room, looking at everything but her. His cheeks were bright red, and his lip came out in a pout that she had only seen a few times before.

"Why are you so stubborn?" he asked after a moment.

"I'm the stubborn one?" she snorted.

He nodded, chewing his lip before he looked up at her.

"We're both idiots," he mumbled quietly, almost as if he was speaking to himself but she caught it.

"Sorry… I'm… I didn't…" he paused sucking in a deep nervous breath before continuing, "I thought that maybe for a moment that I would have to worry about whoever stole your panties in the future, but then I realized you can't get better than a God like me so there is nothing to worry about."

"You are just… so stupid, ARGH!" Maka yelled reaching across the small space and smacking him roughly upside the head. He smiled sheepishly as he caught her wrist and pulled her close so that their chests were pressed against each other, and then he turned to gently guide her so that her back was flush against the counter and escape was practically impossible.

"I think you are in this case, for not realizing that a God was interested in you," he said casually with a shrug, "but it was good of you to come here first."

"If you didn't do it then why is it good that I came here first?" she asked.

His brow rose with a lopsided grin as her blush deepened and she let out a small 'Oh' in realization. He leaned in closer, his lips ghosting over hers as his voice dropped. The deep tones in his chest vibrated as he spoke.

"You should know that I don't take kindly to those who mess with what is mine," he warned, his eyes flashing dangerously as he glanced from her lips back to her eyes.

"And what is yours exactly?" she snapped breathless from the lack of distance between them. She felt hypnotized as he leaned closer and wondered exactly how the hell it was possible that their lips weren't touching.

"Do you accept me as your God?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, "because if you do then I'm yours and you are mine."

She felt his warm breath mingled with the fresh air that she so desperately tried to inhale; she swallowed nervously, before grinning up at her friend.

"You must like me a lot to be that pissed off about someone stealing my panties," she teased.

"Well duh," he growled, his face glowing a bright red.

"So is this your way of asking me out?"

He rolled his eyes, before reaching out and let his hands tangle in her hair so that their foreheads were forced to touch.

"Yes," he said easily. A long silence lapped between them. _Just like that?_ She thought. How could he so easily admit that, she was fighting a battle but she wasn't sure what it was for…

"Who's the chicken now? Afraid of a little commitment, Maka?" he teased lightly. He let his eyes slide close and sighed.

Her knees were about to give out. Everything about him drew her in, and she was close to leaning forward and catching his lips and damning the consequences. She wanted to kiss him, her heart hammered in her chest, and her palms collected moisture as she nervously wiped them against her pants before timidly placing them on his shoulders. She felt like shouting at him more, but the urge to kiss him was stronger. Yet at the same time she knew that they had to have this moment, they needed this venting because they were both stubborn and both frustrated that they hadn't acted sooner. He knew that she was scared of things like this, like commitment to a relationship, and he was egging her on. Her breath caught in her throat as his warm lips gently came to rest on her nose for a moment.

"Possibly," she replied breathlessly. He grabbed her chin forcing her to look him dead in the eye as he glowered for a moment. His gaze softened as he let out a breezy chuckle.

"Don't be," he told her sternly.

And she believed him; she wouldn't have to be scared with him. Being brave didn't always mean that one didn't have fear, it just meant that she could face them. She glanced down at his lips and leaned forward.

His lips were soft and hot. She felt that lame clique feeling that she had only read about in books, that it felt like spark of electricity shooting down her spine as he responded and kissed her back. She melted in his hands, clutching to him to stay standing as he pressed further into her against the counter. Somehow the soft timid kiss became fiercely hot and competitive, neither willing to give the other dominance. His hands roamed her body shamelessly as Maka squirmed to get some leverage. In her struggle she had knocked over the mugs and soaked the counter with hot chocolate. Neither seemed to notice or care.

"Uh… Hi guys?"

Black Star grunted, and ducked his head under his arm to peak at Tsubaki. She was standing in the doorway with a small apologetic smile on her face, with a handsome man peering over her shoulder with a lost look on his face.

"How was your date?" he asked smoothly, as if he hadn't just been in a heated make out session. His lips were slightly swollen and his hair tousled, but otherwise he looked unfazed. Maka on the other hand had the same two effects topped off with a dazed look in her eyes and bright red cheeks.

"Um. Great!" his weapon replied smiling enthusiastically, "we were just heading in to watch a movie, and I thought I heard something break in the kitchen…"

"Oh sorry!" Maka started, noticing a broken mug on the floor and the hot chocolate all over the place.

"No, no, don't worry about it… but uh yeah… I'll let you guys get back to your … uh hot chocolate," she snickered and then ducked back behind the door with her mysterious date leaving the pair alone once again.

"HEY TSUBAKI!" Black Star called out pausing for a moment to lock his gaze on Maka and gave her his best mischievous grin before bellowing, "JUST A HEADS UP… MAKA'S STAYING THE NIGHT!"

"MAKACHOP!"

* * *

**A/N:** _Hi... yeahh... this monster wanted to be released into the world and who was I to stop it? :p. This is marked as chapter one but I think this may be a stand alone one shot. I could go further with it... but I haven't made up my mind yet. _


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